Age of Revolution
by Kit Chan76
Summary: Finally an update, after nearly two years! Continuation of Undying Innocence. A new revolution is at hand, and there are only two men who can stop it. But will their desire to save the ones they love stand in the way of victory?
1. Prologue

This is a continuation of Undying Innocence--my first little Yahiko torture schpeal...Um--as I said before this was originally intended to have nothing to do wiht the other one but, I"m going to try to link it together.  
  
I hope you like it, plot bunnies 3 reviews!  
  
Disclaimer: I dont' own Kenshin or anything of the sort, but I do own my own characters and such so--I guess that's cool.  
  
Prologue  
  
The rurouni stared fearlessly into the eyes of his attacker, a flash of white hot pain jolting him from his stomach. He looked down and his eyes widened as the blade that he'd seen the attacker draw earlier drove deeper into his torso, grinding against flesh and the bone of his lower ribs. Deep blue eyes peered back up, and without a single vocal sound, he drew his sakabatou and swung. The attack barely gave the assassin a chance to move away, pulling the sword with him as he went. Kenshin cringed as he felt his innards shift with the removal of the sharp blade.  
  
"Battousai," the bulky man sneered, an evil smirk forming on his thin lips, "the new revolutionary movement has come; you must be destroyed in order for Lord Shinomori to prosper!"  
  
"There is no revolution, there isn't," Kenshin replied calmly, regaining his composure. And with that said, he attacked with a lightning fast charge and slash--knocking his assailant unconscious and onto the cold ground.  
  
Kenshin resheathed his sword and peered up at the deep moonlit sky. It had to be at least two in the morning, judging by position, and he knew well that Kaoru would be up and waiting for him to get home. What a mouthful he would get.  
  
As the rurouni began his short trek home, the wound in his chest began to ache horribly, despite the pressure that he'd been putting on it himself. He was soon overwhelmed by a series of short but intense hot flashes that left him feeling as though his body had been burned alive. But he pressed on, knowing that at least Sanosuke would offer help if Kaoru was too angry. He pulled his thoughts back to himself as he approached the dojo, and looked ahead. Kaoru came running, as was expected, and she was followed by a worried Sano and Yahiko. The samurai gave a deep sigh and looked up at Kaoru, at first only seeing the obvious anger on her face, but then, as moments passed in silence, he saw her features change as she began to become worried as well.  
  
"Kenshin? What's wrong?" She inquired quietly, reaching her hand out to pull one of his pale hands from his chest, where his arms were crossed to hide his wound. "Where have you been?"  
  
But before Kenshin could answer, he felt another flash of heat, and another searing pain shot through his body. Unconcerned with the surrounding people, he allowed a short cry to erupt from his tiny frame, and fell forward, his knees buckling beneath him. Kaoru was barely able to react fast enough to catch him.  
  
"Kenshin!?" She called as she turned him onto his back in her arms. "Sanosuke, get over here and help me! Yahiko, go get the first aide kit!"  
  
"Ms. Kaoru, I am sorry," Kenshin began weakly, his voice shaky and uneven, his breathing heavy and labored. "I didn't mean to worry you--"  
  
Sanosuke knelt at Kenshin's left side and peeled the top of his gi away from the wound. The crimson, blood-stained cloth stuck to the wound where the blood had dried, and the smell of fresh fluid filled the air. He was still bleeding, heavily. "Kenshin," he began to speak slowly, shooting a glance up to the rurouni's pain stricken face, "you've got to stay awake. I can't help you if I don't know what happened."  
  
"...Didn't...mean to worry you..." The red-headed man groaned and closed his eyes.  
  
"Kenshin, I mean it, dammit! Stay awake!"  
  
The samurai's midnight eyes snapped back open, revealing terrified eyes that Sano and Kaoru both were surprised to see. "I am sorry... That I am..."  
  
"Stop apologizing, Kenshin," Kaoru interrupted. "just don't stop talking to me." She looked up to find a shocked Yahiko at Kenshin's right side, first aide kit in hand. "Yahiko, help Sanosuke, please."  
  
The black haired boy opened the aide kit and pulled from it a towel to begin wiping the blood from around the wound. "Sword?"  
  
"Yeah, but we don't know who did it." Sano replied as he laid his hands tenderly on the wound and pressed to stop the bleeding. "I think he's in shock--he wont say anything but 'I'm sorry," and "I didn't mean to worry you."  
  
"Blood loss?"  
  
"It's bad," Sano replied shortly. "Real bad." He looked up at a shocked Kaoru. "How is he up there?"  
  
"He's cold, and sweaty."  
  
"Get him inside. We'll be able to warm him that way," Yahiko suggested as he laid the cloth back in the small wooden box that contained the rest of the first aide materials.  
  
"Good idea," Kaoru agreed.  
  
Sanosuke nodded and scooped Kenshin into his arms, cradling him gently so as not to hurt the wound anymore. Keoru hurried in front of the two boys, holding the door open for both Yahiko and Sanosuke. In a rush, Sanosuke continued down the long hallway and into Kenshin's bedroom, laying him gently down on the futon that sat against the wall. "Kaoru, keep talking to him. Try to get him to come around. And Yahiko, you go get a bowl of warm water to clean the wound."  
  
"And you?" Yahiko retorted as he began toward the door.  
  
"I'm going to get Miss Megumi."  
  
Megumi stood from Kenshin's side and turned to face Sanosuke, who was currently consoling a hysterical Kaoru. "He did suffer severe blood loss--" she began. "However, he isn't bleeding anymore, thanks to the efforts of both yourself and Yahiko. He's breathing more steadily now, he'll need to stay in bed for a while, though I'm not sure of an exact time frame yet."  
  
"I see. So he'll be all right?"  
  
"A bit shocked, but he should be fine within a few weeks. Keep him down and out of trouble for a while, away from fights of any kind at all."  
  
Kaoru looked up at Megumi and dried her eyes, letting the death grip that she held on Sanosuke's jacket loosen a bit. "What can I do to help?"  
  
"Baby him. Feed him in bed, don't make him get up for a while. He needs to rebuild his strength and blood supply."  
  
Sanosuke nodded and looked down at Kaoru. "See? I told you he'd be all right, Jou-chan."  
  
But before Kaoru could retort, there was a deep groan from the direction of Kenshin, followed by a rather abrupt cry. He began to become restless, breathing heavier and faster once again, mumbling a few words in his sleep.  
  
"Megumi, what's wrong with him?" Kaoru cried as she stood and began rushing toward Kenshin's side. She was halted abruptly as Sanosuke grabbed the back of her kimono, pulling her back down.  
  
"Leave him be for a while..."  
  
Megumi shook her head. "He is no doubt, dreaming. There's nothing you can do to he--"  
  
"I will never bow to such hell bent men as you!!!"  
  
Sanosuke jumped at the sudden outburst. He'd never known that such a small man as Kenshin could produce such a loud scream, not to mention that Kenshin had never before used such language in his presence. Kaoru bit her lip and put her hands to her mouth, tears filling her eyes once again. "Make him stop... He'll hurt himself if he keeps tossing like that!"  
  
Megumi nodded. "Sanosuke, help me hold him down, if you'd not mind."  
  
Sanosuke agreed and stood, rushing to Megumi's aide. He took the rurouni's feet while she gently held his shoulders to keep him from tossing too hard. The red head groaned at the touch, but remained quiet for the time. He reached his right hand out in front of him, palm toward the ceiling. "You will not harm her, or you will answer to me..." he began, his voice menacing.  
  
Kaoru stood and began toward the futon, hands folded in front of her. "Miss Megumi, that is the Battousai speaking... Not my Kenshin."  
  
"I know..."  
  
The Battousai's hand shot down to his left side, where his katana would normally be, but fell when he discovered that there was nothing there. He cried out and began to sit up, his strength even in sleep nearly stronger than Megumi's hold on him. "NO!"  
  
The burning street lamp was the only illumination in the moonless, starless night. The dancing flame cast an eerie glow against the tall buildings that surrounded the Battousai. In front of him stood a dark haired woman, a katana held to her throat. Her assailant was standing behind her, hand on the hilt of the sword, ready at any time to slit her fair throat.   
  
"You will not hurt the girl."  
  
"Then you will surrender yourself to me."  
  
"I will do no such thing."  
  
"Then watch her die!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
The bulky man began to pull the blade slowly across the woman's throat, the blood beginning to flow in a slight trickle onto her light kimono. But before the assassin could finish his ruthless killing, he himself was on the ground, blood pouring from his chest, where another katana had been thrust through him and pulled back out mercilessly. Without a chance to react, the assassin fell, dead, onto the ground.  
  
Kenshin watched as the shadowy figure that'd saved the woman's life sheathed his sword and tenderly scooped her into his arms. He slowly walked over to him, laying the girl at his feet. Red-brown eyes looked up into Kenshin's, and the boy stood straight, being only a few inches shorter than Sanosuke was, and he began to speak in a soft baritone voice. "She will be all right, I can assure you."  
  
"Who are you?" Kenshin inquired, "What is your name, and where are you from?"  
  
"It is not a matter of who I am, but when I am. You know the answers you want."  
  
Kenshin puzzled over this for a moment. He did not recognize the physical being or the voice, but there was something in the eyes that he knew. He was close to this person--but he didn't know any other manslayers. "I do not know what you are talking about. I do not know you, I have never met you, that I have not…"  
  
"You do not yet understand, Kenshin. You will make me what I am. You know me, you saved me, nine years ago."  
  
Kenshin was taken aback by the familiar use of his name. "I don't understand."  
  
"This is the future, Ken-san. With a new revolution comes a new generation of hitokiri. Follow your instincts... Or everything you know will be lost."  
  
Ken-san? Kenshin thought. He began to think of who the possibilities of this person were. It couldn't have been Sanosuke, he was a fist fighter, and the figure wasn't tall enough. And aside from that, if it was the future, Sanosuke would have aged at least a little... He was only 19 after all. But who else was there? There are only three people who call me that--Ms. Kaoru, Ms. Megumi, and... "Ya--"  
  
But before Kenshin could utter the name, the figure was gone as quickly and silently as he'd come, leaving nothing in his wake.  
  
"YAHIKO!" Kenshin shot up in the bed, startling the two women in the room. Kaoru rushed to his side, closely followed by Megumi.  
  
"Kenshin?"  
  
The rurouni looked over at Kaoru, a surprised expression on his face. He'd expected himself to still be in the setting of his dream, he'd been there for so long. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kaoru, that I am. It was a nightmare."  
  
Sanosuke rushed into the bedroom. "Fox girl, come here... The kid is freaking out..." he began. "He's talking in his sleep..."  
  
Kenshin gasped jumped from the futon and rushed out the door, shoving Sanosuke aside without regard. He continued down the hallway and in his attempt to stop at Yahiko's door, found himself sliding along the floor on his side after failing to stop and slipping on his socked feet. He crashed gracelessly into the wall at the end of the hallway. "Oroooooo..."  
  
"Kenshin! You shouldn't be out of bed!" Kaoru cried as she rushed to his aide. But Kenshin was too fast. He was already up and in Yahiko's room, absorbing the sight of the restless boy, listening to him speak about the hitokiri.  
  
"…Ken-san..." The boy paused and drew a sharp breath in, his mouth moving to unvoiced words. "...New generation of hitokiri... Follow your instincts... Or all will be lost..."  
  
The rurouni's jaw dropped as Yahiko fell silent, his heavy, fast breathing slowing a bit, every once in a while a gasp sending his tiny body into a short convulsion. He sat in silence, wondering how in the world they could have gotten into each other's dreams.   
  
"Kenshin, what's wrong?" Kaoru asked as she walked into Yahiko's and Sanosuke's bedroom, but she fell silent after seeing the look of concern and bewilderment on his face. It was an expression that she rarely saw. "Is he all right? Are you all right?"  
  
Yahiko woke with a start and inhaled sharply, his eyes wide and frightened. Kenshin held the boy up and comforted him as he began to cry, his uncontrollable sobs jerking his frame under Kenshin's tight grip. Kenshin pulled him to his wounded chest and quietly consoled him, telling him that it would be all right, not to cry anymore. But the boy couldn't bring himself to stop.  
  
"It would seem as though you two were sharing your dreams..." Megumi noted, remembering Kenshin's response to his own nightmare and the conversations that he'd said within. The two seemed to fit perfectly. "The poor boy is just shaken, Ms. Kaoru, he will be all right."  
  
"Yahiko," Kenshin whispered, his mouth close enough to the boy's ear for him to hear. "Calm down and tell me what you saw... I need to know what it was that frightened you."  
  
"I don't want to be..." The boy sniffled, trying as hard as he could to hold back his sobs. "...To be..." He couldn't finish his sentence, he was overwhelmed with tears before he could finish his thought.  
  
"A manslayer, Yahiko? Is that what you don't want to be?"  
  
The boy nodded and resumed his crying fit. "I don't want to... To see it anymore..." He began. "There was too much blood... And that poor woman--" his sentence was interrupted by an enormous sob. "Why did I kill him?! Why didn't you stop me..."  
  
"I didn't know it was you. I would have, Yahiko. But I didn't know, that I did not."  
  
Sanosuke chose that moment to approach the bed and wave the two women from the room. He knelt down by the bed on Kenshin's right side and put his hand on Yahiko's back. "It's okay, kid. If you need to cry then go ahead."  
  
It was late in the evening now, Kenshin had spent the entirety of the day with Yahiko, who had still not gotten over the shock of his dream, even after Kenshin had spent many hours explaining what the dream meant. But now he was asleep on the Rurouni's lap, Kenshin himself drifting off into forgetful slumber even while laying against the uncomfortable wall on the floor. But he could not sleep, every time he was near to it, the shivering boy in his arms would jerk or sob, pulling him back to reality to console him.   
  
"Kenshin..."   
  
The rurouni looked up sleepily to the door, where Sanosuke stood. He nodded with a welcoming, but fake, smile. He was too exhausted to do anything else. "You may come in if you'd like, that you can."  
  
Sanosuke stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He took a seat on his futon and looked down at Kenshin. "What are you going to do then?"  
  
"I will most likely take him--I'll teach him what I know and can." Kenshin replied quietly, pulling the boy a bit closer to him after feeling him shiver. He looked down at Yahiko and closed his eyes. "If what that man and what Yahiko said himself about the revolution is true, and if the dream was truly a premonition, like Ms. Megumi said, then he will be another hitokiri of the Hiten Mitsurugi technique. You will stay here and protect Ms. Kaoru."  
  
Sanosuke nodded. "How long will it take?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Should I tell Ms. Kaoru?"  
  
Kenshin looked up. "No, if you please. I'd rather her not know what I'm going to have to do to him... If she knows she will worry."  
  
"You make it sound like you're going to murder him."  
  
The rurouni shook his head, his expression changing subtly to one of grief and guilt. "It will be worse." He looked up at Sanosuke. "When next you see him, he may not have any humanity left in him, if I am not extremely careful, that is. You see, one cannot master the Hiten Mitsurugi Style if he has any second thoughts about taking another person's life. I'm afraid that Yahiko may be the closest thing to Battousai since me myself, that I am."  
  
"When are you leaving?"  
  
"Tomorrow night. I should be well enough to make the trip to my old home."  
  
"Then take care, Kenshin." 


	2. Aging of the Revolution

Chapter One: Aging of the Revolution  
  
Kenshin scooped Yahiko into his arms and looked around the room, taking his last look at the dojo. His load was heavy, on his back were strapped two katanas, at his side his sakabatou, and on top of the two katanas rested a bag with as much food and water as he could carry, along with two first aide kits. He stole from the room, moving quietly through the halls and toward the front door, stopping only to look in to Kaoru's bedroom, where she and Megumi were sleeping. He closed his eyes, whispered a quiet goodbye, and left the house. He continued on the path and toward the forest, where he would begin his long trek north and to the place where he himself had learned to be the Battousai.  
  
But now he was having second thoughts. Second thoughts about Yahiko, what kind of effect the sword training would have on him; about Kaoru. She would worry even more now, knowing only that Kenshin had left and taken Yahiko with him, knowing nothing about the dream or what Kenshin's intent was. He looked down at the boy in his arms and rethought his decision thoroughly. It was true, that Kenshin himself could protect his friends from many of the warriors that had attacked them, but the man four nights earlier had nearly killed him. At least if Yahiko knew how to use the Hiten Mitsurugi style to his advantage to protect them, there would be more of a chance that everyone would survive. And if Kenshin himself should happen to be killed, at least Yahiko would be able to fight the revolution in his stead... But he could not be called Battousai. He would need a name of his own.  
  
He let his thoughts wander like this for hours on end, never pausing in his walk to rest. He decided that it would be best to walk until dawn, then he knew that he would be safe, deep in the forest. Then he maybe, would be able to begin teaching Yahiko the basics of Hiten Mitsurugi, providing that he wasn't too tired.   
  
But to his dismay, fatigue began to set in several hours before dawn. Kenshin decided to bed down against a large oak. He sat down without bothering to take off his pack or set Yahiko down, and fell to sleep almost instantly. The rurouni slept so deeply that he didn't even notice when Yahiko began to stir and eventually wake later in the morning.  
  
Yahiko looked around himself in a panic, forgetting for a moment that Kenshin was even there, and began to become worried. He only calmed when he felt Kenshin stir under him and heard his light mutterings in his sleep. He looked down at the rurouni with curious eyes, but he dared not wake him. Yahiko knew that Kenshin had been up for at least two days, taking care of him and apparently, taking him away from the dojo. With that in mind, the boy carefully removed Kenshin's arms from around him and stood, replacing the wanderer's hands in his lap. He walked around in a circle around the tree that Kenshin slept against, taking in his surroundings. But his eyes once again fell on the rurouni, this time on the katanas that graced his back. He stepped over to him and leaned down, pulling one of them from its scabbard.  
  
The weight was unexpected, it was much heavier then his bokken had been. The blade was longer, and difficult to control, but deciding that it would be for the best, he began to practice his kata.  
  
"You should not hold the sword like that, that you shouldn't."  
  
Yahiko dropped the katana and froze in position. He turned and stared at Kenshin, who sat against the tree with one eye open, a smirk apparent on his face. "I'm sorry, Kenshin, I didn't know... I--"  
  
"Don't apologize to me..." Kenshin replied. "However, I want you to forget everything you learned about the Kamiya Kasshin style of martial arts... It will do you no good now."  
  
Kenshin stood and drew his sakabatou, stepping toward Yahiko. "Use this until you have a feel for the katanas. This way you wont get cut as much."  
  
"All right," Yahiko replied cautiously as he took the sakabatou. He watched as Kenshin took off his pack and laid it against the oak, and retrieved the katana that Yahiko had dropped. "Now what?"  
  
"I'm going to begin to teach you the beginning kata movements for Hiten Mitsurugi."  
  
Yahiko nodded. "All right."  
  
"Now firstly, you need to control the sword with one hand. Your right, I presume. Being your dominant hand it will be much easier to execute the necessary attacks, indeed it will."  
  
Yahiko removed his left hand from the blade and turned toward Kenshin. "Now what?"  
  
Kenshin stepped up to the boy and took his hand, placed his own hand gently around the blade in order to pry Yahiko's fingers away from the hilt. He situated the sword so that it laid more diagonally along his palm and closed Yahiko's hand, letting go of the blade. "Is that more comfortable?"  
  
"A little."  
  
"Good. Now, lets begin the kata motions."  
  
"Kenshin?" Kaoru peeked around the corner and into Kenshin's bedroom. Once again finding no Kenshin, she rushed to Sanosuke and Yahiko's room, expecting him to still be consoling the young boy. But there was no rurouni in the corner, no small boy on his lap. There was only Sanosuke, sleeping peacefully on his futon. But he wouldn't be for long. Kaoru rushed over to the futon in a panic and began to shake Sanosuke furiously. "Sano, Sano get up!"  
  
The fighter for hire roused himself with a groan and looked up. "What's the matter, Jou-chan?"  
  
"I can't find Kenshin... And Yahiko isn't here either. It's not like them to just up and leave like that!"  
  
Sanosuke looked up at Kaoru, he knew that he would have to lie to her in order to keep the promise that he made to Kenshin. He shook his head, putting on the most convincingly confused face that he could. "I don't know where they went."  
  
The lie had been told, he had to go along with it, trying as hard as he could not to slip up. It would be a long nine years.  
  
"And if you don't hold the katana right you're going to get your hand chopped off, that you will."  
  
"..."  
  
Yahiko repositioned the katana again and began working his kata, each position flowing into the next almost flawlessly while Kenshin watched on from across the clearing. He nodded his head in satisfaction and sighed. It had only been a few months, but the poor boy had already begun to take on the mindset of a killer. It would take hard work to keep Yahiko from becoming another uncontrollable Battousai.  
  
"Ken-san, I'm finished."  
  
"All right, Yahiko. If you'd like to we can eat lunch now, indeed we can."  
  
"I'd rather work my kata, if that's all right. I'm not very hungry."  
  
Kenshin placed a hand on his hip and quirked an eyebrow. "Yahiko Myojin, you haven't eaten in a day! Maybe longer! You need something or else I won't teach you any more kata."  
  
Yahiko inhaled deeply and sheathed the katana on his belt, and waded across the small brook that ran through the campsite and walked quietly toward Kenshin without giving him a second glance. It was obvious to the rurouni that his student wasn't at all the same ten year old boy that he'd been five months ago, and it was his fault. But there wasn't anything that he could do except for to warn the boy of the consequences of allowing one's self to fall victim to the desires of a manslayer, maybe watch him closely while he was doing his kata. If he got angry doing his kata there was no telling what the boy could do with his sword, there would have to be strict discipline involved.  
  
"So, Yahiko-chan," Kenshin began playfully, dismissing his thoughts as far back to the depths of his mind as he could. He placed his hand on Yahiko's head, rubbing it over his hair. "How would you like to go into town? I can buy you something…"  
  
"Buy me something for what?" Yahiko retorted quickly, as he pushed Kenshin's hand away.  
  
"I don't know, doing well on your kata? You've gotten the first twenty minutes learned, that you have."  
  
"It's not that great, Kenshin. It's taken me five months."  
  
"But that doesn't matter, you'll learn it all eventually."   
  
The alley was dark and cold, the sixth winter of the new revolution, the first kill for the newest of manslayers. For a long while he had been walking next to the Battousai, waiting for their target to show himself, but little did he know that his predecessor would do none of the killing that night. The mission was resting on his shoulders.  
  
Yahiko pulled against his new gi nervously and looked down. The dark blue gi nearly blended in with the dimly lit sidewalk, but the camoflage was ruined by the white pants that he wore under it.  
  
"Don't fidgit."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't apologize either."  
  
Yahiko clenched his jaw and put his callused hand against the hilt of his katana, ready at any moment to pull it from its sheath. He peered ahead and squinted through the darkness--two tall figures were walking a bit ahead. Upon seeing his, Yahiko lowered his voice and spoke quietly. "That's them...?"  
  
"Indeed it is."  
  
"You will take one--"  
  
"No. Now go, be as merciless as you can--be clean and swift."  
  
Yahiko gave a nod and stepped ahead, using his thumb to unsheathe the sword an inch or so, just as Kenshin had taught him to, and began to approach the two with a stealth and silence unmatched by even the legend himself.   
  
He was so close that he could smell the scent of cologne and sake on them, he could see every individual wrinkle and crease on the faces, and he could see where he would strike. And in one lightning fast motion, Yahiko struck, sending the two men sprawling out on the ground in a mess of blood.  
  
It had happened so quickly, but to Yahiko it seemed so slow. For a moment, as he stared down at the two dying people, it replayed itself in his mind. The first man had fallen quickly after the katana had entered at his hip, slicing diagonally upward and into his shoulder, nearly cutting him in half. The second seemed a bit more lean, the blade didn't slice as cleanly through him. But the job was still done, and two more of Shinomori's men were gone, never to come after the Meiji leaders again.  
  
"Battou Jutsu, Sou Ryu Sen…"  
  
Yahiko peered down at the men on the ground, and examined each of them closely. The first was completely dead, but the second of the men still stared up at him through half-opened eyes, his breathing shallow and nearly spent. But he still managed to speak.  
  
"Sou Ryu…" he uttered quietly, voice shaky and weak. "So young… To be the successor--"  
  
"Not as young as you may believe," Yahiko replied coldly.  
  
"Then tell me…"  
  
"Sixteen. Now give in… Or I will bring you from your misery."  
  
"I will not die so easily—"  
  
Yahiko shook his head and pulled the katana back from his sheathe, thrusting it downward and into the man's chest, and in one short convulsion, the man was dead, laying helplessly on the ground. Yahiko sheathed his sword once again and turned, pulling the small towel from his belt. He wiped the blood from his face quickly, knowing the consequences of leaving it for long periods of time, and peered at Kenshin. It was then, for a brief moment, found himself startled. He'd not noticed it before, but he now stood at eye level with the Battousai. He turned his gaze from Kenshin and looked back at the men on the ground.  
  
"It wasn't right…"  
  
"It was fine—you'll get better at it… Just don't stare."  
  
Kenshin nodded as Yahiko ran once again through the entirety of the three hour kata, the motions smooth and flawless as though he'd been born to do them. There was another nod as he began the first of the attacks, beginning with the easiest, Ryu Tsui Sen, and ending with the Battou Jutsu, the hardest attack, in all of its forms.   
  
"Good," Kenshin complimented as he approached the training ground on the opposite side of the brook. "It is time to go back to the dojo. We've done all that you can do, indeed we have."  
  
"Are you sure?" Yahiko looked across the water and toward Kenshin, who'd not seemed to age at all in nine years. He nodded at Kenshin's silence. "All right then, we'll go."  
  
"Good. Pack your things and we will leave before nightfall, that way we can keep a lookout for any of Shinomori's samurai. After all, they have been getting closer to camp lately, yes they have."  
  
Yahiko nodded and stepped across the stream, thinking nothing of the fact that only a few years ago he'd had to wade across. "And I nearly forgot… There was another encounter that I haven't told you of yet."  
  
Kenshin followed the boy to the small house that they'd been living in, into the larger of three rooms that acted as their living quarters. He watched as Yahiko knelt, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his blue gi. The rurouni sat his pack down on the small, worn wooden table, beginning to fill it with everything that he'd wanted to take back to the dojo. "Go on."  
  
"I was in town, getting supplies from Aisho," he paused to pull his shoulder length hair into a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck, "there was a scuffle at the shop next door, the samurai were apparently demanding to see me…"  
  
"Were they demanding Yahiko or Ryu?"  
  
Yahiko shook his head. "It's all the same—It doesn't matter much which name they know me by, does it, Ken-san?" He looked up at the rurouni with deep adult eyes.  
  
"It does matter, Yahiko, that it does. Friends know you by your given name. Enemies know you by the name of Hitokiri Ryu, nothing more. If one calls you by—"  
  
"You once told me not to segregate the manslayer from the boy, did you not? So why are you telling me to do so now? It wasn't as though they were going to negotiate anything with me, am I not right?"  
  
Kenshin was taken aback, surprised at how Yahiko had developed a sort of talent for using people's words against them—especially his. He stared down at Yahiko, for the first time in nine years taking in the image that was before him, a feeling of guilt washing over him in a rush. "Yahiko—I only told you that for when you are fighting—So that you don't become…"  
  
"A manslayer? Like you?" Yahiko replied smartly as he gathered his things from the floor and shoved them in his pack. "It's too late for that, it is. You know as well as I have that the count has risen by two hundred men in the past three years alone… The number of men I've killed is countless by now."  
  
There was silence, something uncommon between the two men. Yahiko looked over at Kenshin and stood, towering four inches higher than him. "If you wish to scold me then do so now, if you please."  
  
"I'm not going to discipline you, Yahiko. You're a grown man, it's unnecessary. And aside from that, it is my fault that you've become the way that you have, indeed it is, and it is I that should be apologizing to you for that mistake."  
  
"It was not a mistake, Ken-nii-san. Nor was it your fault. You allowed Hiko to take me for those years, and that is when I learned to kill. This was what you and I both foresaw, it was what Megumi-san deemed necessary, and it was what I, unfortunately, wanted."  
  
The two left their conversation at that and nodded to each other, signaling to each other that they were ready to leave for the dojo once again. They had packed enough food for a week and a half, hoping that the journey would take them less time since both could travel faster than before.   
  
Kenshin led the way in a comfortable silence, waiting for night to fall so that maybe be could take out some stress on some samurai of the dictatorship.  
  
"Where are they?!" The bulky man drew an unconscious Kaoru closer to himself, katana held to her throat. He was ready for the kill at any moment. "And if you fail to tell me once I slay her, then you will join her in the underworld!"  
  
The group of large samurai that surrounded Sanosuke began to close in on him, swords drawn as though they were ready to strike him down where he stood. This was not, however, the first time that this sort of attack had occurred. The black clad samurai had attacked them twice before, but both times previously, there had been much fewer in number than there was now. This time, they were serious.  
  
"I will give you one last chance. Where are the Battousai and Ryu?"  
  
"I don't know where Kenshin is! And I don't know where Ryu is either! For the last time, now let Kaoru go!"  
  
"Battousai is here…"  
  
The soldiers around Sano fell onto the snowy ground, unconscious. They hadn't seen the Hiten Mitsurugi attack coming toward them; they hadn't even seen Kenshin approach from behind. But the rurouni had once again showed in time to save his friends, and now stood confidently beside Sanosuke.  
  
"You are wounded," Kenshin noted quietly as he shot a glance to Sanosuke's shoulder, where he'd been sliced by a katana earlier on in the fight.   
  
Sanosuke touched the dried blood on his shoulder, trying to give as little regard to Kenshin's eyes as he could. They were the eyes of the Battousai at that moment, something that he'd never wanted to see again after the many trials that Kenshin had gone through before. "It'll be all right. But I'm glad you decided to come back. Now how 'bout you save Kaoru?"  
  
Kenshin stepped forward and sheathed his katana. He looked up at the man that stood behind Kaoru and took the position of the Battou Jutsu attack. "You will let Miss Kaoru go, indeed you will."  
  
"Battousai," the man replied in a raspy, sinister voice as a malicious grin appeared on his face. "You are here… Now, tell me where Ryu is…"  
  
"Let Miss Kaoru go."  
  
"Tell me, Battousai."  
  
"If you choose to be so stubborn, then so be it, your death has been assured by your own will. I would have considered letting you go, that I would. However, you have put one of mine in danger, and I will not stand for it." Kenshin paused for a moment, a flash of uncontrollable anger burning in his eyes. "The time has come for you to die."  
  
"You are too far away to do your Battou Ju—" The man froze in mid sentence. From behind him came a low chuckle, an evil sound of the sort that made a man's blood freeze in his veins. It was the laugh of the great Ryu.  
  
"Are you really so stupid? To think that I would be far behind Battousai." The voice returned to its normal baritone pitch, the short silence between sentences interrupted by the sound of metal against sheath as the deadly katana was brought from its place. "I pity your kind, indeed I do. It is a sad thing that you must die so shamefully…"  
  
"Ryu—Successor to Battousai the Manslayer," the man mused to himself as he closed his eyes. "My master will find you, and kill you. Both of you…"  
  
"If he wishes quarrel with me, then so be it. However, you will not be the one to tell him." There was a pause, signature to Ryu, followed by a deep breath. "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, Battou Jutsu. Sou Ryu Sen!"  
  
A gush of blood spurted from the large sword wound, and the assassin fell lifelessly onto the ground, leaving Kaoru to fall back and into Ryu's arms as soon as he'd sheathed his sword. She was scooped up with a gentle motion as though she were a small child, and Ryu approached Battousai and Sanosuke with the same merciless look in his eyes that Kenshin had had many a time before after he had killed.  
  
"She fainted, that is all. I'm sure she will be all right in a while."  
  
Sanosuke caught his breath. "Ryu. And Kenshin?" He pondered this for a few moments and stepped up to the blue clad manslayer, barely having to look down at him. But his young features were shadowed by nose length bangs, Sanosuke couldn't see through the deep black hair and at the eyes, but he felt recognition.  
  
"Come, we will bandage your wounds, Sano," Kenshin ordered as he turned to face Sanosuke. "Yahiko, please take Miss Kaoru to her room, make sure she is not wounded."  
  
"Yahiko!?"  
  
He looked up abruptly at the use of his familiar name by a voice that he didn't at first recognize. "Sanosuke," he replied with a short nod to respect his presence before making the first eye contact in nine long years. "It's good to see you again, that it is."  
  
Sanosuke once again caught his breath, frightened at the sight of the eyes that once were those of an innocent, defiant child, grown into a ruthless killer. They were deep and angry eyes of a reddish tint, but behind them somewhere, he knew that Yahiko was inside.  
  
"You're kidding me! Yahiko is the great and feared Ryu!?"  
  
Kenshin shook his head. "It would be best if you not taunt him, he will not show mercy on anyone, including you or me, if provoked. Now please, come inside. We will explain everything." 


	3. A Manslayer's Weakness

Rawr, sorry guys, it's been forever I know. I've just been so insanely busy with everything lately, just started college and working and all this stuff, I completely forgot about fanfiction. SO..that being said, here's the next chapter!! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!  
  
Chapter Two: A Manslayer's Weakness  
  
Yahiko tenderly dressed the wound on Sanosuke's shoulder while Kenshin sat on his right, explaining calmly the events that had taken place in the past nine years, using as little detail as possible unless Sanosuke asked him otherwise. Yahiko didn't speak unless there was a question that Kenshin couldn't answer—a rarity among the conversation.  
"I'll be back in a minute…" Yahiko offered quietly, finding that the water that he was using to clean Sanosuke's shoulder was very bloody. "Excuse me." Sanosuke watched closely as Yahiko stood, holding the wooden bowl carefully in both hands, and walked from the dining room into the kitchen. He'd been, since the two manslayers had returned, keeping a close eye on him, waiting to catch another glimpse of the child he once knew. But upon finding nothing there, he turned to Kenshin with an expression of dismay. "I didn't know he would change this much." Kenshin smiled briefly and shook his head. "If I had had my way, he wouldn't have. I wasn't expecting it either, but there was nothing I could do, indeed there was not." "It's kind of scary, you know?" Sanosuke took a sip of the tea that Kenshin had made for him. "The look in his eyes was worse than yours when you're Battousai." "I know." "And you trained him to be like this?" "Trained who to be like what?" The two men turned their heads to the door, still closed. But they could see Kaoru's silhouette behind the tiny, square paper windows. "Sanosuke, who are you talking to?" Kenshin stood as the door slid open, Kaoru entering the room, a look of utter surprise on her face. "Kenshin?!" she shouted, her expression changing to one of anger as she approached the rurouni. "Kenshin Himura! You're a horrible, horrible man to have left me for so long!!!" "Oro?" Kaoru rushed over and punched him angrily in the side of the head. "Where have you been?! Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?!" Sanosuke stood to speak, but stopped when he felt Yahiko's cold hand clamp down on his right shoulder. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked quietly, voice barely above a whisper.  
Kaoru stopped shouting and gawked awkwardly at the boy in front of her, attention drawn completely away from Kenshin. She shoved him into the ground abruptly, sprinting over toward Yahiko. "And who are you?" she said flirtatiously as she wrapped her arms carelessly around his neck. Yahiko dropped the bowl of water at the touch and looked with an expression of panic at Kenshin, who by this time had sat up and was rubbing his head, looking toward Kaoru. "That's Yahiko, Ms. Kaoru, indeed it is." Kaoru backed away for a moment, not removing her arms from around his neck and looked Yahiko over. "You… Grew up… You look nice, Yahiko, very unexpected." Yahiko looked down, a light blush gracing his young features. He rubbed the back of his neck under his ponytail and pondered for a moment. "That makes one of us." Kaoru pulled her hands back and put her hands on her hips, insulted by Yahiko's retort. But then she realized something else—it had been forced. The insult wasn't an instinctive thing anymore, he'd had to think about what he was going to say. It was that thought that began her worrying. "Yahiko…" "If you'll excuse me I need to clean the mess that I just made—" he interrupted quietly, not wanting Kaoru to finish her sentence. "And I need to finish dressing Sanosuke's shoulder." "And, Yahiko..." Kenshin began, drawing the boy's immediate intention. "Please take off that gi… It's full of blood." With a nod, Yahiko once again left the room, this time quicker than the last time, Kaoru following him into the kitchen. "Ms. Kaoru, what is it that you want?" He asked as he pulled another wooden bowl from the cabinet.  
"Would you like me to wash your clothes?" Came the reply in a concerned tone. "That would be unnecessary, I can do it myself." Kaoru was taken by the response. She'd been expecting him to practically throw his clothes on top of her at the offer, but to her dismay, he offered a horrendously cold response. An unselfish one at that. "Are you sure?" "Yes, Ms. Kaoru, I'm positive," he replied and turned toward her with the bowl in his hands. "However, if you'd not mind…" Kaoru grew excited, ready to see her old Yahiko again. "Yes?" "Could you possibly take this to Sano-san and Ken-san? I would like to change my gi but conscience tells me it'd be improper to do so in your presence." "Yahiko Miyojin!" The water bowl almost fell to the ground again as the boy jumped. He fumbled it in his hands for a moment and grabbed it before it fell, but to his chagrin, the water splashed out and onto his gi. At this, Kaoru couldn't help but laugh, seeing the expression of surprise and disgust on Yahiko's face had been priceless.  
Kenshin pelted into the kitchen, expecting the worst, but stopped in the doorway and began laughing. "You should take your clothes off before you wash them, indeed you should." Yahiko groaned disgustedly and untucked the gi from his belt, allowing it to fall open. "Excuse me, I'll be washing my clothes if you should happen to need me." "But—it's snow--" He left the room, without allowing Kaoru to finish her sentence, pulling the gi from his shoulders and folding it over his arm, and stepped outside the dojo into the back yard. It was beautiful, the entire yard was white and covered with snow, and large flakes still fell from the sky, but for some strange reason he didn't feel the cold. Dismissing the weather, he pulled one of Kaoru's washtubs to him and filled it with cold water, the best he could get given the snow, and placed the gi in it. And the moment the gi touched it, the water began to change color, from clear to crimson, the blood running from the cloth and his arms. He'd not realized that the assassin's blood had dried on his bare skin, something he'd always tried to avoid. It was a feeling that he hated, having his skin stained with another man.  
But it wasn't long before his thoughts were interrupted. "Hey." "Would you leave me alone?" "I'm not gonna leave you alone, you saved me. And Kaoru wanted me to give you this…" Sanosuke threw one of his jackets down and onto Yahiko, but the boy still refused to face him. "Kenshin saved you, not me. I disposed of the leader, that's all," he replied, his voice diminishing to nothing by the end of the sentence. His attention had been turned a few moments ago from the recent conversation to scrubbing his arms with the scouring pad that he'd been using on his gi.  
Sanosuke approached him from behind and looked down at him. "That shirt is giving you a hard time, isn't it?" There came no reply, a thing that Sano hadn't begun to get used to. But when he saw the blood soaked water, he took yet another hard look and knelt down, realizing the problem. Sano pulled Yahiko's arms from the water and pushed the washtub away, beginning to scold him. "You shouldn't wash your—" he started at the sight of several small cuts on Yahiko's arms. "When did you do that?" The boy tried to pull his arms away, but to his dismay, he found that he couldn't. "Nothing, it's not important. It was an accident from when Ken-san and I were training in the woods… That's all. I fell in the brush…" "We're going inside…" "But… My gi!" "Kaoru will wash it in the morning. Now come with me. Us guys need to have a talk."  
Sanosuke dragged Yahiko back inside, finding it hard after a while. The boy was just as strong, if not stronger than him, by this time, and he was resisting with all of his strength. But eventually Sanosuke got him in the house and into his bedroom. He called for Kenshin with urgency, and the rurouni came running as fast as he could.  
"Yes, Sanosuke, what is it?" Sano latched the door so as not to allow Kaoru in. "I think he's got something to explain." "I don't have to explain anything!" Kenshin shot Yahiko a glance, the boy immediately quieted himself and sat calmly. Kenshin sat down on the futon on the far side of the room. "What is there to explain?" "These abrasions on his arms?" "Those could be caused from many things, Sanosuke." Yahiko folded his hands in his lap and looked away as Sanosuke directed Kenshin's attention to him. The boy refused to speak for a moment, save for when Kenshin ordered.  
"Yahiko, what are they from this time?" "The trip home." "Don't lie to me, Yahiko." "I'm not lying, Ken-san." "Then there's something else you're not telling me, that there is." "It touched me," Yahiko replied, his voice a near whisper. "I had to get it off and the only thing I had to use was that abrasive wash pad…" Kenshin sighed and laid back on the futon. He looked toward Sanosuke. "There's nothing to worry about, it's a bad mindset that he's gotten himself into, that it is." "What do you mean a 'bad mindset'? Is that supposed to mean that this is all right?" Kenshin crossed his arms behind his head. "By a bad mindset, I mean that blood is the one thing that will make him change. It cannot touch his bare skin. I can't give you a reason for this, I cannot. It's complicated." "Then maybe he can explain." Yahiko stood. "I don't have to put up with this." "Yes you do, kid, now sit down." Yahiko sat.  
"Now explain this weird phobia of yours to me. I think it's my right to be at least warned if you're going to go berzerk and start scrubbing your arms with a sharp scouring pad!" "It reminds me of what I am, Sano… I'll want more of it if it stays for too long. Unlike Ken-san, I don't quite have a firm grasp of my… Other half like he does." Sanosuke fell silent and looked toward Kenshin for affirmation.  
"It was the only thing that I couldn't teach him," the rurouni replied quietly. "It's a very difficult thing to do… To control a manslayer inside of you, especially while merely trying to protect those you care about, that it is. The blood of men is the one thing that will drive any man to kill uncontrollably and lose his very human soul. This fact includes both myself and Yahiko, along with all of the other men that we've fought in our time." "I'm sorry, Yahiko…" Sanosuke walked from the room, leaving the door open behind him and Kenshin and Yahiko alone. The rurouni stood up and looked over at Yahiko, hands folded on his lap, eyes glued to the wooden floor. "Yahiko?" "Yes, Ken-san?" "Are you all right?" "I'm fine." "I would like to share a room with you tonight, if that is fine with you." "Because of our—encounter?" "Yes." Kenshin replied as Yahiko sat down on the floor in the far corner of the room. "I want to watch you another night. Just to make sure that you're doing all right." "All right." Kenshin nodded and sat down in the floor next to Yahiko and brought his knees slowly to his chest, pulling his katana from its place in his belt. He laid the sword tenderly against his shoulder and crossed his arms over his legs. Yahiko copied the motion and pulled Sanosuke's jacket over his shoulders, draping it across himself like a blanket. He then turned his brown eyes up to Kenshin, examining his calm, flawless expression, and spoke quietly.  
"I suppose I made a rather poor impression, didn't I?" Yahiko looked up at the ceiling. It was lower than he remembered it, but then again, he'd grown much taller.  
"Your chance at first impressions isn't over yet, you still have tomorrow. Kaoru was telling me that Miss Megumi is coming over tomorrow morning to help with housekeeping. Tsubame will be joining her—it would seem as though she has matured into a fine young lady…" Kenshin trailed his sentence, shooting eyes up at Yahiko. He knew that Yahiko hadn't yet discovered the wonder of the opposite gender. But it was a fun thing to watch, when he encountered a girl—the boy seemed to stutter and trip over his words, like he'd never seen one before.  
"I have no interest in her anymore, Ken-san." "You're not being very fun." "I'm a manslayer in a revolution. For some reason those two words don't belong together in a sentence with 'fun'." "Yahiko! You're not my age yet, so stop acting like it!" "…I don't act like I'm forty." Kenshin jumped and glared over at Yahiko menacingly. "I am not forty yet!" The young man closed his eyes and smiled. "Fine… thirty-seven." Kenshin returned the grin and sat back in his relaxed posture. "That's the first time you've smiled since we got here. You should do that more often." "We should sleep more often, Ken-san." Kenshin nodded. "Indeed we should." 


	4. Attempts at Normalcy

Wow guys--it's been FOREVER. Holy crap. Sorry, college and work and lots of personal and family problems are kind of hindering my creative flow. But here you go, I hope this is enough to tide you over for a bit. 3 REVIEW!

Chapter Three: Attempts at Normalcy  
  
Kaoru, Kenshin, Megumi, Sanosuke, Tsubame, and Dr. Gensai had somehow fit themselves around the breakfast table and were all feasting happily on some of Megumi's famous ohagi. Introductions had been completed, and Kaoru was now interrogating Kenshin carelessly about his experiences over the past nine years.

"So you didn't meet any other women, did you?"

"Now, Miss Kaoru," Megumi began with a chuckle. "I'm sure that Kenshin wouldn't have done that to you."

"I don't know," Sanosuke replied in Kaoru's stead. "He did abandon us all for nine years."

Kenshin coughed, an attempt to change the subject. "I didn't do any such thing, that I did not. However," he paused, looking toward Tsubame, now a rather attractive eighteen year old. "Yahiko did."

"Really?" Came the response, not only from Tsubame, but from Megumi and Kaoru. The three girls were surprised.

"Where is he this morning anyway," Sanosuke asked as he took another bit of ohagi from the plate.

"He's still asleep. I'll go wake him…" "No, Kenshin—" Kaoru interrupted. "Tsubame, you go wake him up. He's in Sanosuke's room." Tsubame nodded and stood, smoothing her kimono.

"Sanosuke-san, please don't eat my share. I would like to fill myself before I work today."

"Whatever…" Tsubame sighed and excused herself from the room. She walked down the hall and opened the door to Sanosuke's room slowly, waiting for the signature squeak that always came with it. But upon finding that there was no squeak, she stepped inside and smiled at the boy who still sat on the floor, head on his knees, Sanosuke's jacket still up over his shoulders. She approached him quietly and knelt at his side, long brown hair falling over her shoulder, and touched his arm gently. "Yahiko-kun…" "Hmmph…" Came the groaned reply.

"Yahiko-kun, please wake up… Megumi-san cooked ohagi for you… She knew how much you liked it and if you don't wake up now Sanosuke-san will eat it all before you get even a little!"

"Ohagi!?" Yahiko shot up and jumped to his feet, giving no regard to the girl at his side, who he'd practically ran over. He pelted from the room, his bare feet carrying him down the hall with a silence matched only by the best of manslayers, and he threw the door open hastily, panting as though he'd just ran three miles.

"Good morning, Yahiko," Kenshin offered as he took another bit of ohagi. "I didn't hear you coming." "You made ohagi and didn't wake me up!?" "I thought you might like to sleep after a week and two days of walking—was simply trying to be thoughtful…" "Thoughtful?! You're trying to starve me!" Yahiko sprinted to the table and took his usual place between Kaoru and Sanosuke and grabbed greedily at the remainder of the ohagi. It wasn't until then that he regained his composure and blushed a deep red as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his gi.

"Excuse me…" He said—and blushed even deeper when he belched rather loudly.

"Yahiko—you shouldn't eat so fast," Kenshin warned. "After all, you are company here…"

"Company?" Kaoru interjected. "You boys aren't company, you're family," she grabbed Yahiko around the neck and pulled him roughly to herself in a hug. He groaned at the touch and began to try to pull away.

"Come on, don't be such a guy."

"Don't touch me you ugly girl!"

"Yahiko!" Kenshin scolded again, but this time he got results. He watched as Yahiko sat up and bowed his head shamefully, apologizing to Kaoru profusely.

"Kenshin, why'd you do that?" Sanosuke asked as he placed his half-eaten ohagi down on the table. "He was acting normal." 

"Are you all busy?"

"Tsubame… Where'd you go?" Kaoru asked, directing everyone else's attention over toward the door.

"I was tidying up Sanosuke's room. I made the futon…" She looked over at Sanosuke and approached the table. "You need to be a more calm sleeper." 

"You need to be less picky about your housecleaning."

"And you," she looked at Yahiko with her hands on her hips. "You need to pay more attention to who's around you. You just about killed me back there, knocking me over like that!"

Yahiko looked up for the first time from the ground and blinked a few times, remaining silent. He began his attempt at an instinctive apology, mouth moving as though he were imitating some kind of fish, but no words came out.

"Yahiko?" She inquired as she sat down beside Kenshin. "Are you all right?" 

"Ts…Ts…Tsuba…me…"

"Yes, Yahiko?"

"I didn't realize it was you that woke me up… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to knock you over, I didn't know I knocked you over, I'm very, very sorry that I knocked you over…"

"You're rambling," Kenshin warned.

"Apologies."

* * *

The Akabeko was busy, as it had always been. Waitresses with faces both familiar and not rushed about carrying their trays and plates to the kitchen and to the customers with precision and speed. Tae had been waiting on the Kenshin-gumi since they'd arrived that afternoon, and now sat with them at the small table where the group sat around their giant bowl of stew. "It's been a long time, Kenshin. I was afraid I'd never see you again. Miss Kaoru and Sanosuke seemed a bit lonely without you and Yahiko around to keep them on their feet." 

"I see," Kenshin replied with a smile as he sat his small bowl on the table. "It is good to be back, even in this new revolution. You should know that you're under good protection now, I wont let any more harm come to this place."

"We can only hope." Tae looked away and toward the door, pausing slightly before changing the subject. "So have you seen Tsubame lately? She's not been coming to work, I'm rather worried about her."

Kaoru giggled at this comment, attracting the attention of all of the Kenshin-gumi. She covered her mouth and closed her eyes, nodding her head to Tae's question. "I've seen her."

"Really? Where has she been?"

"Well," Kaoru began, calming herself enough to talk. "It would seem that she and Yahiko have been going out a lot lately."

Sanosuke leaned back, arms folded behind his head, against the wooden wall that separated the small three walled rooms of the Akabeko. He sighed and closed his eyes. "So that's where he's been going lately."

Kenshin looked between the two and quirked a very confused eyebrow. "Oro? I thought that he was working his kata!" he interjected. "If he was going out with Miss Tsubame I'm certain he'd have told me, that he would."

"I thought you might know him better than that, Kenshin," Kaoru replied matter-of-factly. "He's a bit more secretive than you give him credit for."

"I see—"

It was at this moment that Yahiko entered the Akabeko, Tsubame following closely behind him. He gave a short bow and sat while Tae excused herself and took Tsubame back toward the kitchen, scolding her for skipping her work. The others continued to eat, deciding that it would be best not to address Yahiko's escapades in public, that it might become an argument, as things used to when they all talked together.

"You're not eating, is there something wrong, Yahiko?" 

"I'm fine, Miss Kaoru, you shouldn't worry yourself." Yahiko replied quietly.

Kaoru bit her lower lip in an attempt to remain calm at Yahiko's emotionless response. "I hate it when you do that to me."

"Do what to you, Kaoru?"

"You should know…"

"I'm afraid that I don't. I've only been back for a day…"

Sanosuke blinked, and interrupted the beginning argument. "So… What day is it?"

"Tuesday, I think," Kenshin replied as he poured Yahiko a generous portion of the stew that sat before the group. He watched him eat slowly, making sure that he wasn't skipping anymore meals.

"Yes, Ken-san?" He inquired as he looked up from the bowl. "You should eat more." 

"I think I'm doing all right. Don't wo—"

Kaoru threw her bowl at him, pegging the side of Yahiko's head. "I told you to stop talking like that!!!"

"KAORU-SAN!" Yahiko rubbed the side of his head with a wince and glared over at her. "Why did you do that you ugly woman!?" Kenshin and Sanosuke exchanged glances and before they could stop it, began to laugh hysterically. Unfortunately, Kaoru's bowl had still had a bit of the stew left in it, and now it was splattered all over Yahiko.

"You know I didn't have to come out with you all." 

"Yes you did."

"No… No I didn't, Kaoru, now if you'd kindly excuse me I'm going to go clean the stew off of my head…" He shot another cold glare toward Kaoru.

"It was funny, though," Megumi interjected as Yahiko stood and looked down at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm certain it was… Now how about we all go home so that Ken-san and I can rest for a while?"

"Good idea," Kenshin replied. "Sanosuke, pick up the tab would you?"

* * *

Yahiko sat on the roof of the dojo, the place that he'd found to be most comforting to him, and peered up at the dimly lit night sky. Only the moon hung above him now, a few bright stars dotted the sky, illuminating the landscape just enough to see. He closed his eyes again for a moment, but opened them upon sensing a presence, someone that he'd not felt before had intruded into the dojo. He crawled across the tiled roof stealthily and silently until he reached the edge, where he crouched on his stomach and looked down below. On the walk were four men, each very young looking with their daisho at their sides. They couldn't have been more than his age, and each had dark hair--or what appeared to be such in the light. Before them stood Kenshin, hand on the hilt of his katana. He looked angry. More angry than Yahiko cared to see, but the boy dared not interfere with Battousai. He instead listened intently to the conversation, readying himself at any moment to jump to his sensei's aid. "Battousai, surrender yourself to my lord or you yourself will perish alongside your woman." 

"What have you done with Kaoru?" Demanded the Battousai coldly as he stepped forward. "You will find that I wont do anything until you set her free--and if you should refuse to do this, you and your master will die just like your predecessors have."

"So it was you, who disposed of my second brigade of men… Three years ago if I'm not mistaken."

"Three years ago I had not slain a man."

"Then your counterpart had"

_Counterpart?_ Yahiko thought, the word unnerved him. He'd never thought of himself as Kenshin's other half, but in a way, it was very possible. Kenshin had always been the defensive part of the operation, he himself had always been the offense. So maybe it was true--Kenshin was still trying to protect the ones he loved.

"Where is Ryu? Why has he not come to your aide yet, Battousai?" 

"I do not need him to protect me from your kind, that I do not. Now tell me, where have you taken Miss Kaoru!?"

"Master Shinomori does not wish for me to disclose that information to you. But if you wish to, you can surrender at any point. Or you can follow us and fight—"

"I will kill you, regardless of whose turf I fight on."

The four men nodded and fled, their feet carrying them faster than Yahiko had thought was physically possible--but Kenshin followed suit, his pace only a bit slower than theirs. They disappeared into the woods, in the direction of the river nearby. It was at this point that Yahiko decided that something had to be done.

The boy jumped from the rooftop, landing quietly on the ground below. He turned on his heel and pelted inside and into Sanosuke's bedroom, where the fighter for hire laid asleep on his futon. He leaned down and began to shake his shoulders violently, knowing that if he didn't, he wouldn't get him awake. "Sanosuke, wake up!" 

"Ehrm? Yahiko? What do you want?"

"Kenshin left!" Yahiko replied. "I'm afraid that Kaoru's been kidnapped--they were going to kill him."

"You're a manslayer--go take care of it yourself."

"Sanosuke!!!" The fighter for hire sat up and glared menacingly over at Yahiko, and pushed himself out of bed. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to leave a note for Miss Megumi and Tsubame. If they should come, I don't want them to worry about us. I'll go get some food and my katana--I saw him go south… Toward the river--the falls to be exact."

"The falls?" Sanosuke stood and walked to the door, Yahiko following close behind him. "The cliffs, you mean?"

"Yes," Yahiko replied. "Now go write the note, if you please. I'll go and get the other things we'll need." The boy walked down the hall to the left, Sanosuke walked toward the kitchen, and the two began to gather their things for a trip that would last several days at least. They met back within five minutes and nodded toward each other, Yahiko leading Sanosuke from the house and southward into the woods.

The two men walked in silence for a long while before one spoke to the other, Sanosuke the first to talk. "So, do you think we have anything to worry about?" 

"I do, actually." Sanosuke remained quiet for a moment, waiting for Yahiko to elaborate on his thought. But to his chagrin, nothing came. The fighter for hire proceeded to talk again. "And that would be because?"

"Ken-san switched my katana with his reverse blade sword. He's out for blood…"

"What do you mean?"

"For the past nine years Kenshin hasn't killed anyone, he's simply lured the enemy to me so that I could do it…"

"I see." There was once again silence.

"Yahiko, why don't you talk?" 

"I don't know, I just suppose I'm not a loud person anymore."

"Why is that?" Yahiko was once again quiet for a few moments after hearing a question that he wasn't sure how to answer. He stopped walking and waited for Sanosuke to catch up with him, and he looked up at him. "I don't know"

"Well stop being so damn quiet. Why cant you just be the way you were?"

"Maybe because I'm different now." Yahiko retorted and fell quiet, continuing to walk with Sanosuke at his side. He reached his hand up and felt the hilt of Kenshin's sakabatou, resting his hand on it as a kind of comfort. "I can't help it," he began after maybe ten minutes of silence. "I just can't seem to figure out what went wrong in the past nine years. Its just kind of hard when you're trying to control a ruthless killer."

"A ruthless killer… You mean your other half? What you were talking about a couple of nights ago with Kenshin?"

"That would be correct."

"Well you could start by not sounding so sophisticated all the time. Don't be so smart."

"I don't consider myself to be too terribly intelligent--but if that was meant for a compliment then thank you."

"I don't think I meant it as a compliment" Yahiko blushed and looked down, ready for a change in conversation. " So… How long do you think its going to be until we get to the clearing?"

"I don't know. It's been a while since I was there last… Maybe two more hours or so"

Kenshin stared with amber eyes into those of Kaoru's assailant. He drew Yahiko's katana and held it in front of him in an offensive posture. Concentrating on only the battle ahead, Kenshin paid no mind to Kaoru's crying for him coming from behind. He breathed deeply and began to speak in a low and menacing voice.

"You will let Miss Kaoru go or your men will die."

"Battousai," the boy sneered in reply as he pulled his katana from its place at his side, "my men have defeated your kind before… You are not the only manslayer that I have faced in my time"

"You are as of yet a boy, you do not know what it means to be a manslayer."

"Do you think I am so young?" The boy stepped forward and into the light. "I am in fact, as old as your Kaoru… But that does not mean that I have no skills."

"Let her go."

The boy drew his katana and held it in front of himself. "You will fight me for her. Should you kill my men and I, then, and only then, will I let her go."

"Kenshin, don't!" Kaoru screamed from where she stood at sword point, surrounded by huge samurai. "Don't do it, please!"

"Kaoru, I will do anything to save you, so please do not try and stop me…" He placed his hand on the hilt of the katana and glared at the boy. "Come now, you will taste death as so many have before you."

Kaoru cried out as Kenshin began fighting with the boy, watching in horror as the swords came dangerously close to removing limbs or grazing throats, the sound of clanging swords reverberating among the trees. She stared at the Battousai and raised her hands to her mouth, wincing as she saw his arm be sliced rather badly by the boy's katana. She knew that Kenshin was outskilled—he would need help.

The girl decided then that she would have to make her own escape. She plowed through the men that surrounded her and began sprinting as fast as she could away from the clearing, back toward the dojo where she knew that Sano and Yahiko would be waiting, worried for them.

* * *

"Sanosuke…" The fighter for hire stopped in his tracks, startled by the sudden urgency in Yahiko's voice as well as the fact that he'd broken the silence. "Yeah?" "Someone's coming—"

"YAHIKO! SANOSUKE!" Yahiko stepped ahead of Sanosuke and squinted, trying to see through the dark and the trees. "Is that…Kaoru?" He mused to himself surprisedly. "Sanosuke, That's Kaoru!"

"It is!"

Sano and Yahiko stood and waited for Kaoru to get to them, panting and crying, and she collapsed into Sanosuke's arms, weak from her sobbing. "Sano—they're making him fight… He's going to kill again…"

"No he wont," Yahiko replied. "If anything, they'll kill him first…"

Sano looked over at the boy and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"He's not killed for a long time, I already told you that." He paused and looked back at Sanosuke. "Go get Miss Megumi, please… I'll go help Kenshin—"

"But you'll need help…"

"I'd rather you not watch me… I don't need any help, Kenshin and I can handle it."

"All right. I'll have Megumi come to the dojo, if you're not there by noon we'll return to the clearing." Yahiko nodded and turned.

"Thank you, Sanosuke… I'll be back, I promise."

Sanosuke turned and began escorting Kaoru from the woods, Yahiko walking alone in the opposite direction. The boy began sprinting after a long while, reaching the clearing maybe a half an hour later. He stared in amazement at what he saw—at least a dozen men were dead, responsible for them all, and he was being faced by a tiny looking man that appeared to be giving him problems. The Battousai was backed up against the cliffs, laying back. He'd been subdued and beaten rather badly, and Yahiko knew that if he didn't act now, he would go over.

"Ken-san!" Kenshin and the boy looked across the clearing as Yahiko pelted angrily across, jumping over the dead bodies. He plowed mercilessly into Kenshin's assailant, sending him sprawling out onto the ground, and drew the sakabatou, holding it in an offensive position, ready at any moment to take the boy's life.

"Yahiko-kun, don't do this," Kenshin warned, seeing the angry look in Yahiko's eyes. He knew that if the boy killed now he'd be in his killer mindset for a long while afterward.

"Kenshin, don't instruct me to make foolish decisions," Yahiko replied coldly as he lowered the tip of the sword to the boy's throat. "I'm doing as you taught me."

"I never taught you to be an evil man–" Yahiko stopped his advance and looked down at Kenshin confusedly, his guard momentarily lost, and in a lightning fast second, Kenshin's assailant took advantage of this, drawing a separate katana, ramming it upward and deep into Yahiko's mid-section, springing quickly to his feet. He twisted the katana twice and pulled it from the wound, leaving the manslayer in excruciating pain for a moment. But Yahiko quickly composed himself, and backed away and toward Kenshin, holding his hand out for the katana. Kenshin obliged and handed Yahiko the sword, and watched as he began to fight with the boy, his movements barely slowed by the wound. The katanas clanged together violently, but soon enough, Yahiko had subdued the boy and once again had him at sword point.

"Go and tell your master that you have been defeated, I wish no longer to see his henchmen, but to see him in person. I will do battle with him when that time comes."

The boy nodded in fear and sprinted away, leaving his katana behind, into the woods, leaving Yahiko and Kenshin alone. Yahiko walked to Kenshin and knelt at his side, examining the numerous bad wounds that he'd acquired.

"You're hurt… And weak…"

"You're not much better yourself, that you aren't."

"It's nothing, not nearly as bad as it looks, believe me." Yahiko shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, shaking off a dizzy spell before he picked up the sakabatou and sheathed it. He took the scabbard of his own katana from Kenshin and sheathed his sword as well, placing the sheathe in his belt beside the sakabatou. He began to speak again in a soft voice.

"If you'd not find it disrespectful or demeaning I can carry you back to the dojo—"

Kenshin nodded. "That may be necessary… Thank you, Yahiko."

The young man nodded and scooped the Battousai gently into his arms, beginning the long trek back to the Kamiya dojo.


	5. Stealth and Battle

A/N: Damn, I apologize for such a long delay between chapters--I've hardly wrote a thing since high school! College really gets ya goin, doesn't it? Anywho, I figured I'd work on this story since it was nearest to completion, and it's on a number of peoples' favourites list. As usual, standard disclaimer applies, r&r, etc. Enjoy! (hopefully more coming soon). 

Chapter Five: Stealth and Battle

The morning came quickly, Yahiko had spent the rest of the previous night on the roof of the dojo, readying himself for the mission. He departed at dawn, just as the sun began to peek over the horizon, taking only his katana and wakizashi.

He returned to the clearing in the woods, examining everything from two nights ago, blood was still spattered on the ground, and the grass was still trampled where Kenshin's struggle had taken place. But Yahiko noticed something else. A small worn trail, barely noticeable, ran from the clearing to the north, the direction that the boy had fled two days ago. It had to lead to Shinomori. Heaving a sigh, half of trepidation and half of anger, Yahiko made a mental note that north was the best direction for him to start, and continued examining the clearing for anymore notes or clues of any kind. He searched for quite a long while, finally coming up empty handed, and drew a deep breath. Turning his eyes north, the young manslayer began his long trek north, toward Shinomori's compound.

* * *

"Kenshin?"

"Make it stop..."

"Make what stop?"

Kenshin looked up at Sanosuke with pained eyes, but seeing only a blur of brown and white, closed them again. He breathed deeply. "The dreams."

"I can't make them stop, Kenshin, I'm sorry." Sanosuke sighed and looked at where Kaoru laid asleep on the floor next to Kenshin's futon. "She's been up all night looking after you."

Kenshin looked over weakly, once again finding only a blur when he opened his eyes. He gripped the blanket tightly and closed his eyes again, fighting off a dizzy spell.

"Are you all right?"

A coughing fit overcame the manslayer, and Sanosuke was instantly holding him upright. He watched in pity as Kenshin allowed himself to be overcome by the spasms and nearly gagged when he lowered his hands from his mouth. They were covered in blood again, the second time that day. "MEGUMI"  
The doctor came plowing through the door, still holding her glass of tea in her hand, but it didn't stay for long. The teacup fell from her hand and landed with a clatter on the hardwood floor as she slowly approached the manslayer, who now laid helplessly and in pain against Sanosuke's shoulder. His palms were covered in blood, dripping through his fingers and onto his wrists, resting between his legs so as not to touch anything. It was apparent that he'd had another of his coughing fits--this time worse than the last.

"Sanosuke, what happened?"

"Jou-chan, glad to see you're awake--go get me some water so I can clean him up."

Kaoru knew better than to look, but rather, nodded obediently and stood from her place on the floor. She nodded her regard to Megumi and ran from the room and toward the kitchen. Megumi knelt beside Sanosuke and gently touched Kenshin's forehead. The fever had returned, worse than it'd been all day. "Kenshin, can you hear me?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't seem to produce any sound other than a cry as his body was racked by another searing pain. He buried his head into Sanosuke's jacket and clenched his hands into fists to keep himself from crying out again, and he began to tremble with his efforts. Megumi looked up at a distraught Sanosuke, who returned the concerned expression and watched as she undid the manslayer's gi gently, still trying to talk with him.

"Can you speak, Kenshin-Chan?"

"Don't."

Megumi nodded her satisfaction, seeing that his stubbornness still outmatched the pain. "Please try and stay awake for a while, Kenshin. It's important"  
He opened his mouth again, but closed it when he felt Megumi's icy hands feeling around the rash that'd spread to his neck and back. The cold felt good against him, he'd been hot being wrapped in the gi and the blankets for so long.

"He's not pulling away, Megumi... What does it mean?"

"He's probably too weak to do anything."

It was at that moment that Kaoru stepped into the room with the bowl of water and sat it down beside Sanosuke. "I brought your water..."

"Thanks, Jou-chan," he said gratefully as he looked up at her momentarily. He then returned his gaze to Megumi, then Kenshin. "I'm going to lay you back down... Clean you up a bit..." Upon hearing no reply, Sanosuke laid the manslayer back against the pillow and took his hand, wiping the blood away with the cloth that Kaoru had brought with the water bowl. He took great care to avoid the patch of rash that had spread to his left wrist, and within a few moments, Kenshin was cleaned.

* * *

Two days—painfully long days of walking with no obvious direction, sleeping for only two hours each Yahiko continued along that tiny beaten path. But finally, sunset on that second day he came across what he sought. He crept with as much stealth as he could through the thick trees surrounding the compound's ten foot fence, surveying the degree of surveillance involved and how tricky it would be to make his way inside. The young man concluded, after mere moments, that it was going to be damned difficult.

Yahiko retreated into the thicket, fighting his initial feeling to rush in, blades flying, opting instead to rest, to readdress the wound on his chest. Taking refuge against a tall pine, Yahiko drew down his gi, revealing the bandages underneath. Megumi had done a fine job, he thought, as usual, but the bandages had only restricted his movement to that point. They would have to go.

Delicately he found the end of the long bandage and pulled. It gave way and began to unravel easily, Yahiko wrapping it as he went around and around his torso and chest, wondering why in hell Megumi had used so much. After what seemed like an eternity of unraveling, Yahiko found the other end of the bandage, stuck to his skin just an inch below the sword-wound, and gingerly peeled it off. He examined the wound briefly—it was badly bruised, dried blood around the outside, but it was healing nicely otherwise. Perhaps he would be able to fight to his full capacity that night.

Wound or no, he would have to. Kenshin was depending on him. So was Japan.

The manslayer waited quietly, eyes closed, until what he approximated was midnight. The new moon didn't lend itself well to telling time, but it did lend itself to a stealthy entrance. Yahiko reviewed his strategy one more time, again resisting the urge to slay anyone in his path at first sight. He would instead creep over the tall fence via the surrounding trees and lay low. His daisho would lend itself well to the task at hand—silently picking off every last guard outside with hopes of drawing as little attention to himself as possible. He would then move to the interior of the compound where he could only assume multitudes of guards would be waiting. This Shinomori character didn't seem stupid—he would know that his place was being attacked. But if Yahiko played his cards right, he would have the strength to diminish the guards and defeat their master, and if he did things perfectly, perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to overcome his other side: Hitokiri Ryu.

"Time to go, Ryu" he mused to himself in a half-whisper. "Kenshin—you'd better live until I get back"

With that steadfast determination, Yahiko began to maneuver his way through the forest and toward the compound once more, steeling himself, readying himself for what he was about to do. He always found the first kill to be the hardest—but most times after that he simply blacked out, his body would kick into its barbaric autopilot and slay as his mind saw with stunning detail. He grew more anxious as the compound walls began to show through the dense foliage, as he took to the trees and began to make his way, climbing and jumping, closer and closer. He moved to the northernmost side of the place, what he observed to be near to the back door, and observed. The guards appeared to be in a formation, one pair every fifteen or so feet around the perimeter of the base, with little to no shrubbery to cover Yahiko's motions. So much for his plan of stealth.

* * *

Shinomori sat with a sinister grin on his pillow filled platform. So, he thought, everything has fallen into place. A chuckle escaped his lips as he pondered the promising prospects: Hitokiri Ryu would soon be faced with the greatest challenge of his young life. It was a miracle that he had even come. It simply showed the extent of the young manslayer's respect and devotion to his sensei, he would do anything for the other, even risk or give his own life.

"Beautiful!" Shinomori exclaimed with a haughty laugh. "If I can't have Battousai I may as well take the next best thing"

Though he wondered if Ryu even remembered his prior experience with Shinomori, ten years ago. That beautiful spring day when the revolutionary army abducted the then-child, holding him as ransom for Battousai.

Yahiko remembered.

* * *

The young manslayer jumped from the wall, landing silently behind the first two sets of guards, drew his katana and daisho, and struck. One blow took down both of the men, cleanly, and for the first time in many years Yahiko…Ryu…felt satisfaction in the dealing of death. Shinomori would pay for all of the pain he had caused, both to Kenshin and Yahiko, as well as to Japan. Ryu would make sure of it, starting with his guards.

It didn't take long for the remaining men to realize what was going on, only five were downed before one screamed through the night of the intrusion, drawing the attention of the entire compound. But Ryu didn't care. He slashed and hacked and killed with such a fiery intensity that some of Shinomori's guard retreated—they were killed ruthlessly from behind. Backstabbing wasn't a tactic Ryu much employed, but under the circumstances it was distinctly gratifying—sweet revenge!

Ryu smiled, laughed even, as his katana dove through another man's chest, finding its exit in the guard's left arm. Blood flowed, spewed even, spattering against the hitokiri's gi, his arms and face, and the man dropped to the ground in halves. Another clean kill! All the bastards would die, he thought, every last one, including Shinomori once he had relinquished Kenshin's antidote.

Behind!

Ryu wheeled round on his heel throwing his daisho up for a parry and his katana wide to begin the ambitious guard's death sentence. He hardly noticed the pained cry the young man let out as the daisho parried and twisted, finding its way through rib and lung into his chest, hardly cared, even. Ryu made eye contact with the young man, wishing him a silent 'go to Hell' before swinging his katana horizontally, lopping off the man's head, his body still hanging by the chest on the manslayer's daisho. In one more fluid, unremorseful motion, Ryu knocked the beheaded body onto the ground, pushing against the chest and drawing his daisho out before whirling again and repeating the same bloody routine with another two guards.  
Around and around he went, blades flying in a mesmerizing dance against a seemingly endless flow of enemy guards. They fell in piles at his feet, none would escape that night. Ryu laughed melodically, his maniacal baritone piercing the dead night like a siren as he danced his life-stealing dance. It didn't take long before the guards stopped running to their comrades' defense. The flow of soldiers slowed, to Ryu's chagrin, and only after making sure that each soldier laying at his feet was dead did he sprint to the front of the compound. He finished the last few soldiers with clean, broad strokes, and turned to the doors.

Wide open: just the way he liked them.

Inside he went, downing the irritatingly few guards he came across in a shower of blood and entrails, decapitations and other gruesome executions, absently splashing through the pools of blood he had left behind. Down the innumerable hallways he sped, the knowledge that he would soon slay his ultimate enemy driving him onward. What a surprise that Shinomori bastard would get when he met his end by way of Ryu's blade. That would show him to take innocent children captive!

But it was Ryu who would be getting the surprise that night. He rounded one final corner and ground to a halt at the face of Shinomori Torou, leader of the new revolution.

The two stared each other down for an eternity before the silence was broken. "Good of you to have come, Ryu. It's been quite a while since last we met," Shinomori began with a smirk. "You've grown into quite the assassin, I bet Battousai is terribly proud of your accomplishment"

The manslayer stepped forward, his grip tightening on his swords as he readied them for a speedy attack. "You bastard," he growled, "I'll kill you just as I killed your men! You ruined my life"

Shinomori preemptively stepped out of the way as Ryu lunged his way, katanas leading, backed by the full weight of the youngster's body.

"Do not kill me yet," Shinomori reasoned, watching the hitokiri whirl around to face him again. "Sheath your weapons, let us talk as men. Besides, you can't kill me until I produce Battousai's antidote, now can you"

Ryu heaved an angry breath as he threw his swords back into their sheathes, fire flaring in his red-brown eyes. He obliged with silent rage, following Shinomori into his private quarters—much renovated since Yahiko's visit as a child—and sat on the designated cushion opposite the commander.

"I have a proposition for you, hitokiri."


End file.
